Such apparatus for example serve for providing forms with a very definite format, for example Eurochecks, with certain definite printed entries. The form is generally pushed into the receptacle by hand until it comes to lie against a stop; in this way it is ensured that the form is always printed exactly in the lines provided, which are determined by the stop. It must however be considered a disadvantage of the previously known apparatus that these can print only one line at a time.
In one known apparatus of the same class, the stop is indeed adjustable, i.e. the apparatus can be fitted to another line height by a more or less expensive conversion operation (DPR502N of the TEC firm). But this construction too permits only a one-line printing. If a series of forms are to be printed on in a number of lines, then the forms must run through the printer one by one a number of times; before each new run the printer must be converted, which is very expensive.
Since the forms are laid in the known apparatus by hand and taken out again by hand, they can respectively be pushed into the receptacle only far enough that an edge sufficient for grasping shows. Thereby a part of the form in the upper region is lost as a surface to be printed on, so that the apparatus is not usable at all for certain forms.
A further disadvantage of the known apparatus is seen in that no adequate guiding and holding of the form is offered, since the latter lies only loosely against the bottom stop or lateral stop surfaces. In particular, with forms having a width less than that provided for, the guiding is so poor that in the printing operation, especially in off-center printing, the danger of being askew exists.